Good news: My semester will be officially finished by midnight tomorrow, then only one more before I’m an MA (God willing)!

Sunday sermon: That the Christian joy St. Paul talks about is not found in money, possessions, power, fame, or others’ affections, but rather in God. Those other things bring us pleasure, but they shouldn’t distract us from our ultimate goal, God, Who is able to give us joy even in the midst of suffering in this fallen world

Good news? I have a meeting with the department chair tomorrow to discuss the removal of the Anti-Catholic content along with the pro-death stuff like contraception, abortion, gender selection (Feminists are outraged gender selection is discriminatory to girls because more girls are being aborted than boys. This speaks volumes about the future and our choices. ) from my Women’s Studies class. I might actually be successful on this because all the online course material comes from some radical feminist web site and it’s credibility for a post-secondary educational class is nil.

We had three new priests ordained last Thursday, all with traditional vestments. They each consecrated themselves to Our Lady. Then after Mass they asked us to offer up our sufferings for them. Each of their Masses were beautiful and traditional, with all male sanctuaries…bar one girl because I think they were pressured by the local school who decided to attend.

As one of the two organists at the Ulrichskirche here in Pinswang, I usually play during Sunday Mass. I recently played a mid-week Requiem Mass…the first in my experience. All seemed to go well until the very end. Noting that there were not many in the church, the Auszug (Recessional) I played was a very short movement from a lovely 18th century work. The work ended, I shut down the motor powering the old wheezing bellows, rose from the organ in the loft and glanced down to what I thought would be an empty church. I was shocked to see that the entire congregation was still there, all standing in silence. Oh, no! What I played was too short! They were waiting for the rest of the work!…….at least, this is what I was thinking. The pause after the movement was too long, so I couldn’t just continue. This silent waiting continued for what felt like 5-minutes. I was about to crank life back into the old bellows (still the original from 1899) and play anything written in a minor key, when to my relief, I heard the movement of all below toward the two exits. For the next few days I commiserated over my having ruined this already very sad occasion with inadequate music. It was only later that I learned that Pfarrer Simon had taken longer than usual in the Sacristy, and that all were waiting for him to return and lead those assembled out of St. Ulrich’s and up the steps to the ancient Friedhof (cemetery) on the hill behind the church. As you might imagine, I was much relieved to that I had not err’d after all and that the music was fine. This was very good news indeed.

EF Dominican Mass: Sermon on preparation in Advent widely misunderstood as not just for the coming of Christ at Christmas but also for Christ’s second coming: what that was and how we should look prepare for that in our lives.

In the afternoon (at another church), Solemn Vespers (EF) for Gaudete Sunday, followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. First time heard in that church for decades. Beautiful and very well received.

The good news? I am married with four children and, right now (thanks be to God), everyone is healthy and happy and on the right track (eldest son is entering the seminary in the fall of next year). I am employed and my bills are payed and my debt is managable. My duaghter’s soccer team, which I coach, is still undefeated in Indoor soccer. My youngest son (9 years old) has experiences when he prays that “bring tears to my eyes, – not because I’m sad but because I’m so happy”, and, after mass he invariably hurries down to kneel for a few minutes before the tabernacle.
I feel very blessed.

Good news? Ive been employed by an agency that likes to send me out to a 5star hotel to assist with evening banquets, so lots of hours to be had in the Christmas party season. My brother is flying over from Canada for the holidays next week, and today I will get started on those decorations that are so needed to make my flat Christmassy.

Lovely mass yesterday evening (with rose vestments, sung parts to the new translation for the first time, and chapel filled to overflowing FTW!) had the point that since the Trinity is overflowing with joy, this spills over into creation and into our own hearts through the Holy Spirit. When Father was making this point near the beginning of his sermon, a wee boy gave a cheeky yawn, which made the entire congregation (vast majority whom are university students, Laudate Dominum) crack up with laughter. Father then said that isnt it interesting that a four year old is what is needed to make us have the joy and laughter that we should have always. Lovely moment.

I have been doing the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises under a director. Did them years ago, and this version, for busy, distracted laypeople, is fantastic. Much grace. I highly recommend this for anyone. Get a conservative director, please.

As to the sermon, not memorable. And, not one rose vestment on the eight priests at the altar…at the Cathedral. Music was good with Ave Verum and some other usual goodies. Weather is great-68 Fahrenheit and dry.

Good news: Our Parish Priest who has been very sick for over a year has recovered sufficiently to celebrate a solemn Mass yesterday for Gaudete Sunday, filled my ear with holy water during the Asperges!. Also his devoted colleague priest who has largely carried our Church during the Pastor’s illness currently has his family visiting from overseas. Thirdly, a recent fundraiser came up with $152,000 for the renovation of the local novitiate where our priests live and train seminarians.

Sermon on Gaudete Sunday: the need for Catholic Christians to be filled with the joy of knowing Christ Our Lord, and reflection on Rorate Caeli, the raining down from Heaven of dew onto the root of Jesse giving rise to Our Lady and the Immaculate Conception.

Good News:
For Gaudete Sunday I got to serve both a Low Mass and a Missa Cantata with a traditional priest in rose vestments (and a professional choir) it was beautiful. Also good news – a real turning point reached in discerning my vocation (prayers appreciated)

Sermon:
Underlining the liberation from sin brought by confession and examining some reasons people use to avoid going (including G.K Chesterton’s believing he was too fat and would get stuck in the box). Followed by a plug for the penetential service on Friday along with a final exhortion to Rejoice.

I was blessed to hear a normal, well thought out homily at mass. Among other things, connecting Moses “the Prophet” with St John the Baptist; and Joshua and Jesus (Joshua) crossing the Jordan. No one ever made that connection for me before. Just another reason to see Our Lord as the fulfillment of God’s promise.

Father my good news is that on Chirstmas morning all my family will be home for Christmas. After Mass we will enjoy Mystic Monk coffee I bought yesturday from your link. Thank you Father for all you do for Holy Mother the Church.

My daughter had a wonderful Confirmation retreat weekend. She astonished herself by crying during Adoration. I tried to explain this to her and could not find words, but I’m so thankful that being in the presence of Our Lord touched her so deeply.

Our homily focused on the theme of giving our best to God, especially when we are giving to the poor. Giving our worn, cast-off clothing to the homeless is not enough; we should be giving warm, useful items that can help them make it through another freezing winter. God gave His best, His Son, as an example of how we are to give back to Him.

Well…after sending a multi-page ‘enrichment’ tome to my RCIA candidates and Catechumens last week regarding the ‘O Antiphons’ and their place in our seasonal liturgy…and explaining their depth from simplicity (talk about noble simplicity, right?) to the class yesterday morning (after the obligatory ‘breaking open the Word’ of the readings for Mass and discussion of our Blessed Mothers’ Immaculate Conception), “Veni, Veni, Emmanuel” was one of the Communion hymns. In sotto voce, Laurie, a professed Baptist who is studying to enter the Church at the Great Easter Vigil, leaned over to me after the tabernacle was closed and father was sitting down before the dismissal, and said “Now I’ll never be able to sing that hymn again and not know what the meaning of the words are”. I just smiled. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that make an impression. Deo gratias.

Our priest reminded us yesterday that Advent is a challenge to bring ourselves as close to God as we can in this life, that Advent is a penitential season and we should be doing penance in peparation for the coming of the Lord. Advent is our opportunity to give ourselves totally over to God’s will for our lives.

The good news is… I have been blessed to attend the EF for the past couple of years. God has given me another day to prasise and worship him, another day to get it right… so to speak.

I noticed, when visiting my in-laws at Thanksgiving, on the bulletin board of the church what a large amount of seminarians there were for the diocese. (This is one of those places where the priest has to travel between two parishes. Wouldn’t it be nice if he had an assistant priest? Perhaps someday soon it will be so.) Then, I read in my diocesan newspaper the other day that a lot of places are having the “problem” of crowded seminaries. I was most encouraged by this wonderful news.

I always love hearing the hymn “Christ Be Our Light” and we gave it a thorough treatment Sunday.

Great homily about rejoicing in Christ, amidst the ongoing suffering world. Also calling out the stark contrast between darkness and light.

Our parish is 70% Hispanic, and boy o boy, do they ever celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe. They built an enormous “mountain” full of flowers, Our Lady at the top, complete with flashing lights around her head. I could have done without the monster display near the alter. At least turn off the flashing lights during mass. There is a fine line between effectively ministering to the local Hispanic community and distracting our attention away from the altar during mass.

As a general rule, I think we are safe to eliminate the use of all flashing lights in our churches. Maybe its just me.

Our Pastor had purchased a new set of rose vestments (chasuble and dalmatic with stoles, plus chalice veil from House of Hansen, Chicago) and they arrived last Friday, just in time! They are beautiful! It is truly encouraging to know that a priest would be willing to lay out the kind of cash needed for these vestments, knowing full well that they’ll only get worn 2 weekends out of 52.

The congregation continues to struggle with the corrected translation. We’re still getting a lot of “and also with your spirit” and people keep forgetting to take up the card for the creed, so the first few lines are a jumble. But we’re plucky in Wyandotte. We totter on.

Our “transitional” deacon from the Polish seminary preached a very good homily, drawing from the Gospel reading and threading it through the Magnificat in a very effective way.

It looks like we will be able to go to Christmas DAY mass for the first time ever! Usually we do midnight, and I’m not a fan- tooooo late for me. This year we start staying HOME for Christmas, and visiting family the week prior. I’m way too excited about this!

It looks like we will be able to go to Christmas DAY mass for the first time ever! Usually we do midnight, and I’m not a fan- tooooo late for me. This year we start staying HOME for Christmas, and visiting family the week prior. I’m way too excited about this!

Father thanked us for doing our best in adapting to the new translation. He said the HE needed the change because after 45 yrs. as a priest he had all the older prayers memorized, and it was too easy to say the words while thinking about what he was going to do after Mass. He said that the new translation helps him to meditate more on what he’s saying/praying.

Attended St. Mary’s in Norwalk, Ct. yesterday ( 12-11-11) for their yearly Our Lady of Gaudalupe feast with their Latino community , beautiful Spanish Ordinary Form Mass with Latin and Spanish Chants offered by the pastor Fr. Markey. Church was packed (SRO) children were dressed in traditional folk dress processed with flowers for the large OLG float covered in roses which was carried after mass through downtown Norwalk lead by Fr. Markey and a line of altar boys, then back to the school hall for a Spanish feast cooked by members of the parish and there was singing.

After Christmas morning mass I am joyously resigned to having a first class Chinese lunch with all the other Jews who are out on Christmas day – seeing I’ve been a Catholic for three years and don’t know one single Catholic. And no, I’m not feeling sorry for myself – for the first time I’m not dreading Christmas Day.

Supertradmum: What a blessing for you to be going through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises under a director.

I have been working through the exercises on my own, praying for the opportunity to attend an Ignatian retreat, possibly even finding a director. I have purchased the book, The Discernment of Spirits, by Father Timothy M. Gallager, OMV, an experienced retreat director, whose Sunday night series on EWTN has helped me immensely.

Good News: My friend who has suffered several years of infertility and at least two failed adoptions has finally become the adoptive mother of an adorable little boy.

This Sunday’s sermon was about confession and how it is necessary, available, and not scary. The priest wore ROSE vestments. Unfortunately, the sermon did include a bit of walking around and a volunteer, but I think that the priest illustrated his point well.

My parish has dived head first into the new translation of the Roman Missal and we are chanting the Creed (father says the best way to memorize something is to sing it). I have a new grandson, father is hearing confessions for an extended period of time and the lines are long. Our parish seems to be reviving. I am so happy!

My first vigil Mass with my hearing aids. They worked great. I heard everything. I realized the cantor’s diction is fine, I just wasn’t hearing the consonants. Though the priest was the one who is easiest to understand. Confession was better too, you can’t read lips through a screen! I will have to put it on noise reduction program though on those days when they have the REALLY LOUD BRASS. The pealing of the bells was interesting too.

I have also entered a period of peace. We have lots of priests for dispensing the sacraments but none who will talk to us one on one who have any degree of life experience so it’s hard if you are going through any kind of serious problems. But we have all the other things that God provides for us. Ultimately, we are not to depend on people, even priests, only on God.

It was good to hear a forceful sermon describing the impact of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe following which 9 million people were converted in the following next decade and the end of a Mayan culture of death which sacrificed 60,000 humans per year. The obvious parallels to our society which has sacrificed millions of the unborn to the gods of materialism, convenience and self-indulgence were drawn.

Father gently but firmly reminded us that Advent is a time of penance. He encouraged us to come to the reconciliation services throughout our area and to confession at the regular scheduled times or to make an appointment for confession if this was not convenient. :o)

Our pastor reminded us that Christmas Day is not the end of the Christmas season, but the beginning. And that we should resist the temptation to celebrate during Advent rather than preparing ourselves to celebrate during Christmas.

For the first time, my extended family is planning an Epiphany celebration, as a way of putting into effect the principle that Christmas is not over on Christmas. We’ve never done one before and are not sure what to do, but we thought since everyone will be all gifted out by then, and yet, gifts are really appropriate for Epiphany, that we would have a White Elephant exchange.

Made confession my #1 Advent priority, finished my 33-day Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary on the feast of the Immaculate Conception; and have in my possession the ultrasound of my grandchild at 12 weeks! Astounding! If you’re looking for miracles, look no further than this.

One of the elementary school kids in our parish had a terrible lung infection for a couple of weeks, and they were even going to ship the kid from our local children’s hospital to the one in another bigger city nearby. But just when it seemed like the poor kid was not going to make it or would be in the hospital for months, he got better within a day or two; and they sent him home instead of to the other hospital. Needless to say, it was the answer to much prayer; and the folks from our parish who’d been praying for him said a week of prayers of thanks.

Sadly, there were a lot more Giving Tree requests for people to buy presents for the poor this year. But the usual storage areas are overflowing, in our parish!

Rose vestments for everypriest! I think that it helped our pastor embrace the rose-ness, that they’re not laying out the Pepto-Bismol tent-vestments anymore.

The young priest had a very interesting homily, but I can’t remember much of it because it was so early in the morning….

Two good news to relate: First, I went to a meeting of the Third Order of the Franciscans of the Immaculate this past Saturday. It was at a hermitage center ‘way out in the boonies of Southern New York. I went with a friend whom I met this past summer at a ‘Day With Mary’ at Auriesville Shrine. He also got me a ticket to see Michael Voris in June. He’s a member of the Third Order-in fact, he got his habit last night, on the Feast of Our Lady o Guadalupe.
Second is….I have heat in my house! I ran out of fuel oil (hate it, I want to get something else instead, but am too ‘poor’ to afford anything) and had to go to the local HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program) office yesterday to get a grant. Luckily I was first in line, so I was taken care of right away. I couldn’t take sleeping in a cold house anymore!
Had to stay home in order to let the deliveryman in, and when the wait became unbearable, I rushed down to the place where I have my heating contract, and (ashamedly) lost my ‘cool’ in the office! But right after I got home, the deliveryman arrived, and I was taken care of!
Guess that means I have to go to confession again this coming Sunday….sigh….I can have such a rotten temper at times….

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An outstanding opportunity to get into Latin and New Testament Greek

For Easter: another ethereal music CD from the chart-topping nuns…

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A bit more food for thought…

“Only one sin is nowadays severely punished: the attentive observance of the traditions of our Fathers. For that reason the good ones are thrown out of their places and brought to the desert.”

- Basil of Caesarea - ep. 243

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Food For Thought

“The legalization of the termination of pregnancy is none other than the authorization given to an adult, with the approval of an established law, to take the lives of children yet unborn and thus incapable of defending themselves. It is difficult to imagine a more unjust situation, and it is very difficult to speak of obsession in a matter such as this, where we are dealing with a fundamental imperative of every good conscience — the defense of the right to life of an innocent and defenseless human being.”

- St. John Paul II

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Should the US Bishops have us return to obligatory "meatless Fridays" during the whole year and not just during Lent?

Because you don’t know when you are going to need to move fast or get along without the supermarket…

For your consideration…

"One of the most dangerous errors is that civilization is automatically bound to increase and spread. The lesson of history is the opposite; civilization is a rarity, attained with difficulty and easily lost. The normal state of humanity is barbarism, just as the normal surface of the planet is salt water. Land looms large in our imagination and civilization in history books, only because sea and savagery are to us less interesting."

- C.S. Lewis

Identity theft is a serious problem that you do NOT want to have. I use Lifelock.

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Wyoming Catholic College!

A great place in Rome…

More food for thought:

“I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square. His successor will pick up the shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the church has done so often in human history.”

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More food for thought…

"All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution are null and void."

- Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137, 176

Even More Food For Thought

"Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties:
1. Those who fear and distrust the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes.
2. Those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe, although not the most wise depositary of the public interests."

Additional Food For Thought

“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?... The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If...if...We didn't love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation.... We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.”

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Fathers, you don’t know who might show up! It could be a “big fish” of one sort or other…

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Food For Thought

“Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites. . . . Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere; and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters.”

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